


Statuesque

by PerfectlyHopeless



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Canon Divergence, Drabble, F/M, mostly just character stuff, pre-In Your Heart Shall Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-21
Updated: 2015-05-21
Packaged: 2018-03-31 14:03:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3980815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerfectlyHopeless/pseuds/PerfectlyHopeless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She knew he was a Templar when they met without knowing anything else about him. Not in the usual ways, but in ways that one wouldn't expect. </p><p>He wasn't statuesque the way they were in the Tower, he moved too much for that. But she could hear his blood singing a quiet, lingering song.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Statuesque

**Author's Note:**

> A fic featuring my mage, Lori. Mostly character background, very drabble-y.
> 
> I hope you enjoy ^_^

* * *

 

Relationships between Templars and mages were forbidden, as far as Lori knew. She'd seen what could happen if they got too close. One always ended up leaving the other, or betraying them. Relationships in Circles were risky to begin with, but these relationships were dangerous. 

As a child in the Circle she'd watched them from afar, terrified and fascinated at the same time. She would hide on the staircases, staring at them from above. They were so serious all the time, so much so that they didn't seem as though they could possibly be real people. They were just judgemental statues that on occasion moved from one place to another.

Lori didn't dare get close to them. She knew how they saw her. As a monster. And they were there to make sure none of the mages actually became what they saw.

She didn't understand much of what the Circle mages taught her. It seemed foolish to think that all spirits were evil, that they would all become demons. Her dreams showed her wonders, curious wisps leading her to beautiful places before Templars woke her, blades pointed in her direction as they stared her down with icy glares that froze her more than ice magic ever could. Despite her best efforts to explain that there had been no demons, they still tried to convince her otherwise. It angered her to the point where she wanted to lash out, but while they were focussed on her she could feel the lyrium in their blood suppressing her magic.

The Templars often threatened her with Tranquility, a fate worse than death in her eyes. They insisted vehemently that if she kept dreaming such things that they would take them away from her.

Her Harrowing proved that she could defend herself against real demons, and gave her comfort that she wouldn't have to be made Tranquil. The ring of lyrium-infused silver she kept on her thumb reminded her that she would be safe. From then on, until the Conclave, she allowed herself to dream and held Templars at an even greater distance.

But then there was him.

She could tell that Cullen was a Templar from looking at him, but not in the usual ways. He fidgeted, swaying slightly when he stood as he constantly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Completely unlike the statues she saw in the Circle. And it wasn't in the way he spoke, his attitude seemingly perfect for what was required of a Commander instead of a guardian. Nothing like that would have tipped her off and lead her to see him as a Templar.

She could sense it in his blood. Having been surrounded by them and their abilities since she was only seven, she'd learned the subtleties. Taught herself to detect lyrium as a way of forcing herself to wake should she find herself dreaming with wisps and they came to intervene.

The lyrium in Cullen's blood was different from the other Templars in Haven, though. It was fainter.

Lori was good at hiding, and always had been. She hid behind behind trees the same way she'd hid behind bookcases for the first few weeks, watching this Templar from afar. She felt guilty for spying. She wasn't a child anymore, she needed to stop and act her age.

But there was something so curious about him.

They'd had only a couple conversations in passing, and he seemed just as nervous about the "Herald of Andraste" being a mage as she was about being around an ex-Templar. Lori tried using their similar past situations as a way of giving them a common place to start building some kind of non-hostile relationship. She asked about his experience in the Circle, why he became a Templar, what it was like.

She was shocked when she learned that he'd joined the order at the age of 13, and that he wasn't even the youngest there. Because it could take a number of years for a mage to come into their magic, in the Circle the only time someone younger than six appeared was when a mage gave birth. Such things were incredibly rare. To learn that young children, sometimes even babes, were promised to the Order without a choice made her insides twist with a certain kind of disgust that only a Circle mage could feel.

It seemed as though they were all prisoners, sometimes.

Cullen felt very real to Lori, and in an incredibly reassuring way. Templars felt more like people than statues after their talks. He explained that they were expected to always be on edge, that they had to keep personal feelings separate should anything happen. As Lori got used to Cullen she found herself wanting to learn more about him.

Whenever Lori came back from Ferelden or Val Royeux she would sit by the training area, watching him and the soldiers outside the walls of Haven. It was amusing how he acted so serious all the time, but then with a simple flirtation he would begin stammering, his gold eyes widening as he tried to save face. Eventually he would curse, avoid meeting her gaze, and ask to change the subject.

Lori just smiled each and every time, diverting the conversation to bring him back to a comfortable place. As he relaxed she found herself doing the same, and after a couple months they were no longer scared of each other.

They were both just human, after all. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading 
> 
> Comments are appreciated, but as always not necessary ^_^


End file.
